Rare African crane hangs out near Orange Lake

Published: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 2:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 2:31 p.m.

There is more unknown than known about an elegant bird currently in residence in a northwest Marion County RV Park. No one knows its gender, nor where it goes when it is not there. Local birding experts agree, however, that the lone beautiful creature is an East African crowned crane, also known as a grey crowned crane.

Facts

To learn more

Urban legend says the regal bird was one of a pair brought to the area by a former diplomat, who had been given the duo when he retired from service in Africa. While no evidence about the diplomat or another such crane in the area could be found by the Star-Banner, numerous documented sightings of the single specimen span more than a decade.

“Years ago, Rex Rowan got a call from a woman on a horse farm who described the crane as an African crowned crane,” said Carolyn Retey, field trip chairwoman for the Marion Audubon Society. “He didn't believe her.”

Via email correspondence, Rowan, who is with the Alachua Audubon Society, said that in November 2000 a woman who worked at a horse farm on County Road 318 east of Orange Lake contacted him for help identifying a bird.

“She thought it was a crowned crane, but I told her that was very unlikely because crowned cranes were African,” Rowan stated.

He said the woman insisted her identification was correct, so he met her at the horse farm to watch the bird fly in to roost, which she said it did every evening. Rowan positively identified the bird as a crowned crane.

“She told me it had also roosted at the horse farm during the winter of 1999-2000,” he said.

Rowan said he also had heard that the crane was one of a pair presented to an Italian diplomat upon his retirement from a posting to an African country, who brought the cranes with him when he settled in Florida and one of them escaped.

“It's been living wild for nearly 14 years now, if not longer. That's all I know,” Rowan said.

There also is conjecture that the crane escaped years ago from the Silver Springs attraction.

According to the International Crane Foundation, the cranes are endangered and their population has been reduced by 50 to 75 percent over the past 45 years due to habitat degradation and because the birds are so beautiful there is a strong illegal market for their capture and sale.

The adult cranes have a wingspan of more than 3 1/2 feet and stand 3 feet tall. The bird in Marion County sports the distinctive golden crown of spiky feathers and has the bright red strip over its eyes and the red “gular sack” under its chin. The body is gray, with the feathers merging into white and light and dark brown down to the tail. The cranes live approximately 22 years.

Retey said they feed on insects and grains, but are omnivorous “so they may eat anything they come across.”

The crane seemed oblivious Monday to the sound of a lawn mower in the distance as it grazed with two sandhill cranes, stepping with an elegant stride between rows of recreational vehicles lined up like dominos. It occasionally raised its head quickly, on alert, but just as quickly lowered it to resume pecking in the dew-heavy grass.

Crowned cranes prefer grasslands near water — making the shores of Orange Lake a prime site.

Dr. Darryl Heard, an associate professor and veterinarian in zoological medicine services at the University of Florida, said he doubts the bird was brought overseas by the diplomat. He said the most common way the birds reach North America is through zoos and private collectors.

“It may have been able to fly away from somewhere, an accidental release from a zoo or private collector,” Heard said.

He said Zoo Miami has several pairs of mating African crowned cranes, but the parents are “de-flighted” and he assumes their progeny are all accounted for.

Heard said if the African crane is hanging out with sandhill cranes, there could be two scenarios: The Florida subspecies of sandhill cranes winters in the state; the northern subspecies leaves Florida in the spring and breeds up north, as far away as Canada and Wisconsin, with the same migratory paths as whooping cranes.

“This bird could be associated with migrating cranes, and it's possible it could be with the Florida subspecies, which has a local geographic migration,” Heard said.

<p>There is more unknown than known about an elegant bird currently in residence in a northwest Marion County RV Park. No one knows its gender, nor where it goes when it is not there. Local birding experts agree, however, that the lone beautiful creature is an East African crowned crane, also known as a grey crowned crane.</p><p>Urban legend says the regal bird was one of a pair brought to the area by a former diplomat, who had been given the duo when he retired from service in Africa. While no evidence about the diplomat or another such crane in the area could be found by the Star-Banner, numerous documented sightings of the single specimen span more than a decade.</p><p>“Years ago, Rex Rowan got a call from a woman on a horse farm who described the crane as an African crowned crane,” said Carolyn Retey, field trip chairwoman for the Marion Audubon Society. “He didn't believe her.”</p><p>Via email correspondence, Rowan, who is with the Alachua Audubon Society, said that in November 2000 a woman who worked at a horse farm on County Road 318 east of Orange Lake contacted him for help identifying a bird.</p><p>“She thought it was a crowned crane, but I told her that was very unlikely because crowned cranes were African,” Rowan stated.</p><p>He said the woman insisted her identification was correct, so he met her at the horse farm to watch the bird fly in to roost, which she said it did every evening. Rowan positively identified the bird as a crowned crane.</p><p>“She told me it had also roosted at the horse farm during the winter of 1999-2000,” he said.</p><p>Rowan said he also had heard that the crane was one of a pair presented to an Italian diplomat upon his retirement from a posting to an African country, who brought the cranes with him when he settled in Florida and one of them escaped.</p><p>“It's been living wild for nearly 14 years now, if not longer. That's all I know,” Rowan said.</p><p>There also is conjecture that the crane escaped years ago from the Silver Springs attraction.</p><p>According to the International Crane Foundation, the cranes are endangered and their population has been reduced by 50 to 75 percent over the past 45 years due to habitat degradation and because the birds are so beautiful there is a strong illegal market for their capture and sale.</p><p>The adult cranes have a wingspan of more than 3 1/2 feet and stand 3 feet tall. The bird in Marion County sports the distinctive golden crown of spiky feathers and has the bright red strip over its eyes and the red “gular sack” under its chin. The body is gray, with the feathers merging into white and light and dark brown down to the tail. The cranes live approximately 22 years.</p><p>Retey said they feed on insects and grains, but are omnivorous “so they may eat anything they come across.”</p><p>The crane seemed oblivious Monday to the sound of a lawn mower in the distance as it grazed with two sandhill cranes, stepping with an elegant stride between rows of recreational vehicles lined up like dominos. It occasionally raised its head quickly, on alert, but just as quickly lowered it to resume pecking in the dew-heavy grass.</p><p>Crowned cranes prefer grasslands near water — making the shores of Orange Lake a prime site.</p><p>Dr. Darryl Heard, an associate professor and veterinarian in zoological medicine services at the University of Florida, said he doubts the bird was brought overseas by the diplomat. He said the most common way the birds reach North America is through zoos and private collectors.</p><p>“It may have been able to fly away from somewhere, an accidental release from a zoo or private collector,” Heard said.</p><p>He said Zoo Miami has several pairs of mating African crowned cranes, but the parents are “de-flighted” and he assumes their progeny are all accounted for.</p><p>Heard said if the African crane is hanging out with sandhill cranes, there could be two scenarios: The Florida subspecies of sandhill cranes winters in the state; the northern subspecies leaves Florida in the spring and breeds up north, as far away as Canada and Wisconsin, with the same migratory paths as whooping cranes.</p><p>“This bird could be associated with migrating cranes, and it's possible it could be with the Florida subspecies, which has a local geographic migration,” Heard said.</p>